


The Terrorism Myth

by rockymountainvixen



Series: Magic, Lies, and the Shining [2]
Category: Doctor Sleep - Stephen King, Journey into Mystery, KING Stephen - Works, Marvel (Comics), Marvel 616
Genre: Developing Friendships, Drama, Friendship, Gen, Kid Loki, Leah of Hel - Freeform, Lies, Meddling Kids, Mystery, Secrets, Strained Friendships, Trust Issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-31
Updated: 2016-03-04
Packaged: 2018-04-28 14:19:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 11,544
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5093885
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rockymountainvixen/pseuds/rockymountainvixen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Leah is not have the best luck as of late. The once proud handmaiden of Hel has been abandoned on Midgard by her mistress; to be the servant of the newly reborn god of mischief, who finds it amusing to drag her along to the mortal city of Broxton to explore and meet with his dull human acquaintances. What begins as frustrating serfdom quickly turns into a race against time. The Serpent's uprising has had a nasty side effect. Those closely involved with the war are plagued by never-ending nightmares that soon turn fatal, with Loki included in their number. Aid comes from a surprising source, a demon hunter with more than a little demonic blood himself, Daimon Hellstrom. His power may be just enough to prevent tragedy, of course, assuming Loki doesn't make a colossal mess of everything, again.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Part the first

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Halloween everyone! The break is over and here is the second work of the series; The Terrorism Myth. I'll do my best to try and update on a regular basis.

* * *

 

“Why is it we are coming here again,” a disgruntled Leah grumbled as she followed Loki down the Broxton sidewalk.

“Because Abra is going to buy us milkshakes,” he answered for the tenth time in as many minutes.

“But what I don’t understand is why you have to have this mortal purchase the milkshakes, you possess coin,”

“It’s a matter of principle,” Loki huffed “One never turns down free milkshakes,”

Leah was not mollified “How much do you truly know about Abra?” she asked with a suspicious edge to her voice.

Loki tightened his grip on the thick chain that served as Thori’s leash “I know a great deal about her,” he said with as much confidence as he could muster “I know that her home is in Broxton and…she is female…”

“And?”

“And she is willing to buy us milkshakes, the rest inconsequential, besides we’re here,” Loki said, and indeed they were. Loki and Leah had reached the well trafficked diner of Broxton.

After securing Thori to a sturdy-enough pole, Loki hurried over to the door “Not let’s not delay,” he said “We wouldn’t wish to insult our host,” Leah rolled her eyes at him before following him into the restaurant.

_Now one question remains, where do we find—_

“Over here!” a new voice piped up.

Loki looked around and saw a waving hand at a booth next to a window. Attached to the hand was a girl that, coincidently enough, appeared to be of age with Leah and himself. She was wearing denim shorts and a pink hoodie. Her great mane of blonde curls was tied off on either side of her head; the humans had the most unattractive name for this hair style, pigtails.

She perked up as Loki and Leah walked towards her table “Hi, I’m Abra,” she said, confirming Loki’s prediction.

He fixed his most charming smile “Hello Abra, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance in person after our many digital correspondences,” Loki gestured to Leah “This is Leah, because she is quite new to the area I am showing her around,”

Abra grinned brightly at Leah “Hi Leah, it’s nice to meet you,”

“Likewise,” Leah replied evenly.

_She didn’t vaporize her, so that’s a good start,_

Loki nudged Leah towards the booth seat opposite Abra and sat down after her “If I understand correctly, this gathering is to be celebrated with the sharing of shaken milk?” Loki inquired.

Abra waved him off “I already ordered, the first one will be here in a minute, we can chat a bit while we wait,”

“Oh, of course,” Loki replied. Their conversation drifted into semi-awkward silence as it became evident that none of them could come up with any suitable subjects for small talk.

“So,” Loki said eager to break the silence “You’re a native of Broxton, Yes?”

Abra chewed on her lower lip before responding “Kind of, I live here now, but up until a little over a month ago I lived in a different town north of here,”

“Why did you choose to relocate so close to Asgard?” Leah spoke up, startling Loki and Abra.

“It wasn’t technically a choice,” Abra said while fiddling with the zipper of her jacket “My parents needed to move to Oklahoma City for their jobs and it was easier for me to move in with my Uncle here than go with them,”

“I imagine it must have been quite an adjustment,” Loki said while gesturing to the rubble that lay a ways beyond the window.

“Tell me about it,” Abra said with a laugh “It seems like we can’t go more than a week without something crazy happening, like the…” she trailed off, perhaps just now realizing that her comment might be in poor taste given the severity of the past few days’ events.

Their conversation lapsed again, longer and even more uncomfortable this time before Abra whispered “I heard that Thor died,”

Loki felt the dagger of grief and guilt twist sharply in his gut “Aye, he did,” he said quietly.

“The funeral is going to be the day after tomorrow,” Abra said softly “I’m going to go with some other people from town to pay our respects,”

“That is good,” Loki said listlessly “He was a hero and will be greatly missed,” with great effort he met Abra’s eyes again only to find her gazing at him intently “What is it?”

“Oh, it’s just…” she fumbled to find the correct words “Do you have a cold?”

This question that had nothing to do with their current subject and seemingly came from out of nowhere startled Loki “What!?”

“I don’t know,” Abra babbled “Something just seems off, are you sure you’re not sick or anything?”

Loki was indignant “Of course I am certain,” he scoffed “I am a god of Asgard and gods do not become sick,”

His outburst surprised Abra “Uh, ok,” was all she said.

Abruptly, the atmosphere of their booth was shattered by a cheerful waitress carrying a large glass “One large milkshake,” she announced in a bubbly tone while setting said milkshake on the table. Upon seeing their expressions her perky countenance slid into an expression of concern “Is everything ok over here?”

“Yep, totally fine,” Abra said hastily while grabbing the milkshake.

“Yes all is well,” Loki added “You may return to your regular duties,”

Mollified for now, the waitress walked away.

Abra gave a small sigh of relief and then looked down to examine the dairy treat “This one’s strawberry,” she said with a smile, glad for the distraction “You guys can have it,” Abra slid the milkshake over towards Loki and Leah’s end of the table.

“I’ll let you have the first sip,” Loki said, handing the milkshake to Leah.

Leah took the glass uncertainly, staring at the creamy liquid with several whole strawberries floating on top “You want me to taste it?” she asked “What happened to the cow to render the milk so?”

“It was horrible,” Loki lamented “You don’t want to know, the poor thing,” Abra rolled her eyes at this.

Unruffled, Leah brought the straw to her lips and began to slurp up the milkshake.

“Well, what do you make of it?” Loki asked.

“It is satisfactory,” was all she had to say before taking another deep sip.

Loki eyed the rapidly disappearing milkshake “Er…Leah?”

Leah ignored him and continued drinking.

“You’re meant to give it back, I was giving you a sip!” Loki tried and failed to pull the milkshake from her grasp, Abra’s snickering was not helpful “Leah!”

“Bad enough you heathen freaks nearly destroy the town once a month,” a gruff voice spoke up “but now you’re in my seat,”

The three of them turned to see a burly young man glaring down at them, especially Abra “I don’t know how you get off, hanging out with these weirdos like you’re better than the rest of us, that’s pretty uppity coming from a trailer-trash kid living with their alky uncle,”

Abra was unmoved “Drop dead Travis,” she said in a deadpan.

_Now would be the ideal time for diplomatic intervention,_

Loki spoke up “I know how this goes! I’ve been studying your moving pictures, gathered by the torrent of bits, transferred to my pad of i; so many films for free. Your players must be generous to distribute them so! ‘We would wish no trouble here’ that’s right?"

Travis would not be placated so easily “If you don’t want trouble here you can step outside,”

A slightly condescending edge crept into Loki’s voice “Well, I was using ‘here’ in a general sense of not wanting trouble at all. I was implying that meaning. It’s a clever thing you can do with words. I’ll teach you if you like,”

If Travis had been angry before he was positively livid now, he grabbed the collar of Loki’s tunic and yanked him out of his seat “Never kicked a god’s ass before,”

“You never will,”

Travis looked down to see that Leah had grasped his free wrist with one slender, pale hand. Then, before Loki or Abra could protest, she heaved him off the floor and tossed him through the window with a loud crash and a flurry of broken glass. Thankfully, the mortal known as Travis was still alive, judging by the way he was groaning and twitching after having landed face first on the pavement.

“It’s trickier to keep a low profile with you than I’d imagined, Leah,”

Having recovered from her shock, Abra hastily rose from her seat “Um…I think I left the stove on,” she said in a rush “So, if you don’t mind…I’d better go take care of that,”

“Indeed,” Loki said while preparing a speedy exit for Leah and himself as well. They swiftly exited the diner and, after Loki hurriedly apologized to Travis, started to go their separate ways.

“It was nice meeting you guys,” Abra called after them.

“The sentiment is mutual,” Loki responded with a small wave.

“Have care Abra of Broxton,” Leah said in solemn farewell “I believe our paths may cross in the again,” and with that she began to follow Loki back to fallen Asgard, strawberry milkshake still in hand.

 

 

 


	2. Part the Second

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter is here! As of right now my updating schedule is every other Friday. Fortunately for this story, a lot is already written out, so event if I'm delayed in writing more I should still be able to update.

The day that had started with milkshakes and meetings had ended in lectures and punishment. The All-Mother had given him an earful once they learned of his ill-fated escapade into Broxton. That compounded with being sent to bed early did not do wonders for Loki’s mood.

He turned on his straw pallet, trying in vain to become comfortable.

_I doubt that Leah and I will be allowed back into the diner after our display,_

The day hadn’t been a total loss though, Loki was finally able to put a face to Abra’s name. The girl herself summed up to be exactly as Loki suspected from their chat-room discussions, a polite, kindly human child. Though there was one small blemish on her character that Loki couldn’t overlook. 

_She holds no distrust for me whatsoever,_

While this was a refreshing change from the outright scorn Loki was accustomed to, he simply had to question the intellect of anyone who took everything he said at face value; Loki was, after all, the god of lies.

_Perhaps that’s just it, Abra has no way of knowing about my reputation as a trickster, one Asgardian is probably just the same as another to the people of Broxton,_

Now that was a far more pleasant thought; Abra wasn’t a complete fool, just grossly uninformed.

_If I’m lucky Leah and I can learn a great deal more about earth from Abra before she inevitably discovers my true nature and permanently parts company with us…_

Us, now there was a word Loki wasn’t accustomed to using. 

_I hope Leah isn’t completely discouraged from accompanying me to Broxton, then again she did appear to enjoy the milkshake,_

Loki had never had a friend before, much of this was new territory for him.

_I don’t care that Leah only spends time with me because her mistress commanded her to, I don’t have anyone else, I’m going to do everything I can so the two of us can be friends,_

These were Loki’s final thoughts before at last drifting off to sleep. 

 

* * *

 

_Loki and Thor stood before the Serpent’s dark Asgard._

_“Tis destiny, Loki. We can’t fight that,” Thor rumbled “So we fight our foe instead, Are you with me?”_

_Loki leapt up, wrapping his arms around Thor’s neck._

_“Of course I am dear brother,”_

_With a twist of his arms and a sickening crack Loki broke Thor’s neck._

_The God of Thunder fell “Why Loki?” he whispered._

_“You had to die oh dear brother of mine,” Loki said in a rush “So I had to help, I did, I did,”_

_I didn’t do it because I wanted to I did it to save everyone,_

_“It’s for everyone’s good! You had to die! I wouldn’t just do this because I was evil, would I?”_

_I’m not evil, I’m not the villain, I’m not, I’m not, I’m not…_

_Suddenly he was seized by hands gray and withered as dead birch trees, but with grips as strong as iron._

_“The Dí-Dí-Dí—”_

_“Dísir, you can say it now,” one of them cackled “Oh, it’s not so bad being bad Loki; you get the punishment you deserve,”_

_Loki struggled in vain to free himself from their talons as they pulled him deeper into the ground._

_“And we get to be together,” another hissed while leaning her face in so close to Loki’s he could count her razor-like teeth “Forever sloughing skin in hell where we—”_

Loki screamed as he felt something hard and sharp dangerously close to his eye, he thrashed wildly before getting his bearings.

_I’m in my room, it was just a dream, a horrible, horrible dream, Ikol woke me,_

Heart still pounding, Loki sagged in relief for having being freed from the terrors of his subconscious. That being said, Loki still wasn’t happy about the escape from his nightmare nearly costing him an eye.

“What are you doing Ikol? You almost blinded me,” Loki grumbled “Odin is gone, but it does not mean Asgard is in need of a new cyclopean presence,”

Ikol was unapologetic “You were under attack, spiritual, mystic, psychic, one of them; unacceptable. You wouldn’t wake. I forced the issue,”

Loki frowned deeply at this while adjusting his lamp “My dreams and nightmares turned against me. I don’t like how that sounds…”

“What were you dreaming of? It will be of import; in dreams there are no coincidences,”

Loki settled more comfortably on his pallet in preparation of giving a lengthy and uncomfortable explanation “Well…”

 

* * *

 

One distressing conversation and a brisk walk later Loki and Ikol were wandering through the ruins of the Serpent’s Asgard.

“Shouldn’t we have waited until morning?”

“Perhaps, but dreams by night are a different thing to dreams by day,” Ikol chided “This is magic Loki, symbolism is important,”

Loki was not convinced “There is nothing here, the All-Mother and every sage and sorcerer they could find went over it, and the majority of its power…” he paused “Well some fool had previously released Surtur, and the fire giant had feasted on the greater portion,” Loki cast the bit of rubble he had picked up aside in frustration “These are just rocks, magnificent and sinister rocks, but rocks nevertheless. Whatever power they had is long gone…”

Ikol fixed him with a beady, green stare “Perhaps, but it occurs to me…There is one place where the Serpent’s Asgard is just as powerful as ever…”

Realization dawned on Loki “Up here,” he raised a finger to his temple.

“You’re not entirely a stupid boy are you?”

Before they could discuss the implications of this discovery, Loki’s bad luck reared its ugly head.

“You’re meant to be dead godling,” a new voiced snarled.

Loki turned towards its source, a tall, red haired man wielding a flaming, fatal looking trident.

“Let me help,” the stranger charged, deadly weapon poised to strike.

“Oh, hell…”

 


	3. Part the Third

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Thanksgiving! Finals are coming up so I'm going to have a lot less free time, but I've started the next two chapters already so the update schedule shouldn't be affected.

Leah idly poked the small fire at the center of her cave.

_I almost wish one of the wards in Loki’s room would activate, this evening is shaping up to be quite dull,_

Her days on Midgard were beginning to form a pattern, nights of tedium in her cave, and daylight hours filled with whatever obnoxious activity Loki happened to choose. 

Leah couldn’t quite place Loki’s intentions yet. She was his servant but Loki had never acknowledged this difference in status between them. For each and every encounter they shared he treated Leah as his equal.

_Normally I would assume he was trying to flatter me in order to sway me away from my mistress and towards being his ally, but I am already his to command, there is no need for persuasion,_

Leah was resolved to one day solve the puzzle that was Loki’s intentions, but for now, she would have to contend with solitary nights and day trips.

That day’s outing had been one of the better ones, the shaken milk was quite tasty and Leah hoped to have more on a later date. The only blemish on the afternoon had been the mortal girl, Abra.

While Abra was one of the more tolerable people Leah had met in her brief life, the girl must be a complete and utter twit to purposely seek out the company of Asgardians.

_One day her lack of intellect and self-preservation will get her killed, and I’m certainly not going to pity her when it does, as one who so closely witnessed the destruction the wars of gods can have on mortals Abra should simply know better than to become acquainted with them,_

As the saying went; when gods and mortals cross paths, it is seldom the god that pays the price. 

Leah paused from prodding her fire when she sensed one of the wards in Loki’s room go off.

_Why is Loki wandering about at this late hour, and in the Serpent’s fallen Asgard no less?_

She very briefly debated with herself about going to investigate or not before standing up.

_It’s not like I have much else to do,_

“Come Thori,”

The Hel-pup grudgingly stood and followed her out of the cave and into the night.

Not bothering with creating a portal, Leah strode briskly to the remains of the Serpent’s Asgard.

_Now if my spell is correct Loki should be just around…_

Loki came rushing around the corner and collided into a pile of debris with a yelp, a towering column of flame erupting where he stood seconds ago.

_Of course, trouble sticks to this boy like flies to honey,_

He babbled defensive nonsense in an attempt to placate his attacker “Honestly, really, I can’t do anything!”

“This, at least, is true,”

Loki snapped his head around “Leah!”

“Luckily, I can,” she summoned a large shield that protect the two of them from an onslaught of hellfire.

“You are the coolest person in the nine realms Leah,” Loki gushed “How did you know I was here?”

“Your lamp in your room moved, I decided to investigate,” Leah replied while hurling bolts of magic at their attacker.

Loki looked somewhat disturbed at this “You sit and watch my room all night?”

“I don’t sleep, the dead have that luxury, their keepers less so,”

_And do go on trying to make conversation while I am in the midst of casting a multitude of complex spells at the same time,_

“But even so—you watch my room all night? Don’t you have anything better to do?”

“Not particularly,”

Loki was flabbergasted “But I gave you access to the world of online! The infinitely entertaining internet!”

_He must be referring to that infernal Midgardian device known as a Stark-Phone that he gave me,_

“It is full of idiots,” Leah said crisply.

Realization dawned on Loki’s face “I’m on the internet,”

Leah hid a small grin “Precisely,”

Their attacker chuckled and surprisingly, ceased his attack.

_I certainly didn’t expect this,_

Leah halted her offense as well.

“Er…is there a reason you’ve stopped pummeling us with torrents of hellish fire?”

“I didn’t believe you were kids, now I do,”

Now that she wasn’t fending him off, Leah could actually get a good look at the stranger.

He was older than them but not by much, with messy red hair and eyes that blazed with hellfire. Interestingly enough, his wardrobe consisted of leather trousers and a long overcoat, but no shirt.

_I quite like the lack of a shirt,_

“Thank the heavens or hells or whatever is more appropriate and less offensive,” Loki said smoothly, quick to turn on the charm now that the danger was past “You think I’m involved in this, why?”

“People are dying in nightmares, my ‘Sources’ are pointed at you…”

Loki was shocked at this “I was dying in Nightmares! That’s why I’m here! I was dreaming of the Serpent’s castle, our problems are linked, I knew it!” he paused while appearing to consider something “Want to team up? We should totally team up,”

The stranger was less enthused “Peers team up; we work together and you’re my sidekick, at best,”

“Doesn’t that mean that I’ll end up dying tragically to give you motivation to overcome the final adversary or some similar tragedy?”

“Yeah probably,”

“…I like the sound of that,”

“Me too,” Leah said just a bit too cheerfully.

_This is shaping up to be quite the interesting night, I’m glad I decided to pursue Loki after all,_

“Okay, I’ve got some ideas,” the stranger said, quickly taking charge “Got a place around here we can talk?”

Loki appeared to be thrilled with this confirmation of teamwork “Certainly! I can—“

“Sir…” Thori growled with a disturbing amount of humility “Will you be my master? Please?”

For the first time the stranger was at a loss for words.

“Silence Thori,” Loki grumbled.

Leah stifled a giggle with her hand.


	4. Part the Fourth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For these last few weeks finals have been kicking my ass, I haven't been able to get much writing done. However, with some prioritizing I should be able to keep my schedule.

The rest of Abra’s day had consisted of doing damage control for the absolute catastrophe that was her first meeting with Loki and Leah. It had started out with awkward small talk and ended with assault and destruction of property. Granted, it had been pretty damn satisfying to see Leah chuck Travis out the window like he weighed no more than an apple, but the fallout was not worth it.

It had taken Abra a whole lot of apologizing and outright begging to keep Mr. Cobb from banning Loki and Leah from the diner, but as bad as that was, telling Dan about what happened was worse. He’d had an inkling of what had occurred for a while, but rather than ask, he waited for Abra to tell him about it; and eventually she did, while apologizing several times in the same breath. After she finished talking, all emotion drained from his face, and dreadful silence stretched out between them. That had been the angriest she’d ever seen Dan, while he didn’t storm off or even raise his voice, his displeasure had still been there, plain as day. He’d just sat there not making a sound, radiating anger and disappointment. Dan hadn’t been keen on the idea of Abra being acquainted with Loki and Leah from the start; them having beaten someone up and wrecked a building in one go didn’t do anything more to warm him to the idea. Finally, just when she didn’t think she could take Dan’s mute fury anymore, he broke the stretched out silence between them in a steely tone.

“I’m going to work, we’ll discuss this later,”

And so he left for his shift at the hospice, well over two hours before it started.

That had been in the afternoon, now it was late at night, and Abra was home alone, sitting at the kitchen table nursing a glass of ginger ale, too distraught to sleep.

_He can’t be that mad at me…he’s probably still stressed out from the Serpent situation,_

Abra had been telling herself this for hours and it had yet to make her feel any better.

She squeezed the glass of bubbly, tart liquid so hard she thought it would shatter. More than Dan being furious with her, another thing was weighing on her mind.

_Something’s wrong with Loki,_

Abra saw it at the diner, as soon as they’d started talking about Thor it had been there and it had gone just as fast when the subject changed. She’d wanted to ask Dan about it earlier, but his response to what happened at the diner intimidated her into silence. So even while she was shouldering the guilt for the disastrous first meeting between her and her-hopefully-soon-to-be-friends; Abra was also lugging around the knowledge of Loki’s aliment like twin boulders shackled to her ankles.

_What could be going on, it’s not like anything else I’ve ever seen in someone else’s head,_

Almost more than anything else that day, what weighed on Abra was the terrible, horrible temptation.

_If only I could look at it more closely,_

While Abra controlled when she saw into people’s heads and when she didn’t, she still got impressions of other people, whether she was trying to or not. Most of the time they were mundane, what a person had for breakfast, who they were dating, and other nonsense. The strongest impression that Abra had gotten off of Leah and Loki was that, if she ever, ever, peeked in their heads without asking and they found out about it, they would never forgive her.

Even so, the temptation was still there.

_Whatever this thing is, it’s bad, really, really bad, I know I could help if I just peeked in a little, but I can’t go through people’s personal thoughts without them knowing, What’s more important, respecting people’s privacy or keeping them safe? I wish I could ask D—_

Abra was jerked from her train of thought, thinking about her uncle and how angry he was with her caused a gnarled pit of guilt and shame to form at the bottom of her stomach; one that no amount of ginger ale could loosen.

_I don’t know how I can fix things with Dan, he’s never been this mad at me before, I just wish I knew what to do, if what’s in Loki’s head gets worse it could even kill him,_

With this cold realization came another thought.

_Even if I do violate his privacy, at least he’ll be alive to be pissed at me,_

Abra turned this thought over in her head several more times, partly to reinforce it and partly to avoid thinking about the new and sudden rift between her and Dan. The more she thought about it the better and better it seemed.

_Loki’s definitely going to be mad when he finds out, but he’ll still be alive to be mad, I don’t even have to tell him right away, I’ll wait a while, until we know each other better, it’s only fair, Loki’s got a lot of stuff he’s not telling anyone,_

Acting while her certainty was still solid in her mind, Abra quickly got up from the table and strode towards her bedroom, ginger ale still in hand.

_I won’t look at anything private, I’ll just take a quick peek, see what’s going on, and what can be done to fix it,_

Abra set her glass on the floor next to her mattress and laid down flat on her back, getting as comfy as possible.

_If I can I should help, that’s the most important thing right now,_

Forcing the turmoil between her and Dan deep into the back of her mind; Abra shut her eyes and breathed deeply.

_Turn,_


	5. Part the Fifth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A mirco chapter, I know, but between finals and making, baking, and frosting four different types of Christmas cookies I haven't had a lot of spare time. Anyhow, enjoy this little chapter, I'll post another longer one next Friday. In the meantime; Merry Yuletide to all and a happy New Year!

 

The three of them had relocated to Leah’s cave so that they might determine how Loki’s nightmares were connected to the deaths Daimon was investigating. Daimon had told them of his demonic parentage and work as an exorcist. He had informed them that he was currently investigating people dying in their sleep due to dreams of the Serpent and some form of dark energy. Then Loki had asked him to inspect his own head to extract whatever dark matter may be lurking there. So far their efforts had yielded naught.  
Daimon placed his fingers at Loki’s temples and cast the spell once again. He gritted his teeth and fought against the resistance to his magic, it was to no avail. Daimon released the spell with a grunt.

“No, whatever it is I can’t shift it. There’s defiantly something…wicked in your head,”

“Is it a brain?” Leah asked most unhelpfully.

“No,”

“Unsurprising,”

“Okay,” Daimon spoke up “We’re going to have to go under and have a look see; I know a ritual,” he gestured to Leah “There’s a procedure to wake us up too. If we look like we can’t surface that’s going to be in your hands, lady,”

Daimon stood and dusted off his garish leather trousers “Right, I’ve got some herbs to prep; settle down. This is going to be a long night,”

 

* * *

 

 

“If we get separated we’re in trouble; so don’t get separated,”

Loki was preparing to enter his dreams with Daimon, and was much more nervous than he was letting on.

I do not relish going back to my nightmares, they were terrible enough the first time,

Daimon continued gravely “When we’re in I’ll try and dig to the bottom of your subconscious. You’re at the mercy of the dreams, but they have their own logic; you can try and use it,”

Betraying no fear, Loki nodded in assent and began to sip the potion.

“Whatever you do, just keep hold of my hand; do that and we’ll be just fine…” Daimon trailed off, the brew taking effect.

Loki could feel it too, his head was swirling and he could feel his eyes begin to shut of their own accord.

“I’m so tired,” Leah spoke up softly.

Loki held his head up gingerly “Me too,”

“I meant of you, Loki”

“…you…meanie…”

…


	6. Loki's Nightmare

**Loki was drifting through an aimless fog, he struggled to get bearings on his limbs.**

_**Don’t let go of Daimons’s hand, whatever happens I can’t let go of his hand,** _

**He flexed his fingers searching for Daimon’s hand, he felt a foreign hand against his own and gripped it with all his might.  
**

**_We have each other, I just need to stay with him and I’ll be fine my nightmares can’t get me,_ **

**Loki opened his eyes and barely choked back a scream of horror, the hand he had been clutching so tightly was connected to nothing but a severed arm; Daimon was gone, Loki was alone and at the mercy of his own worst fears.**

**A towering gravestone stood before him engraved with ‘Loki’s Doings’. Funeral pyres, extending as far as he could see stretched out behind it.**

_**All those who died because of** _ **me,**

**A shriveled, blackened corpse rose from the foremost pyre. Even in its desecrated state, Loki recognized exactly who it was.**

_**Thor,** _

**“All dead, Dead because of you!” the corpse Thor snarled “Because of me, because I let you live, then I brought you back,” his eyes glowed with abysmal fire “Mistake, easily rectified, brother,”**

**Loki was paralyzed with fear; a scream caught in the back of his throat.**

_**Do something, don’t just freeze up, do something, get away!** _

**The corpse Thor leapt down from his pyre, tall and terrible “All you’ve ever done is a trick, whatever you’re up to stops here! I’ve never trusted you, I just loved you,”**

**With a tremendous amount of will Loki forced himself to move, putting a small amount of distance between himself and Thor’s apparition.**

_**It’s not true, it’s just an illusion, it’s not true, it’s not true, it’s not true,** _

**“I only let you live because I was weak!” the wraith bellowed “The dead don’t have time for weakness Loki!”**

_**Shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up,** _

**Loki scrambled away from the cadaver’s reach.**

_**Dream logic, what Daimon said, he’s not here, I need to use dream logic, make something that can help me,** _

**The corpse Thor charged him with a bone-chilling roar, hammer raised in a deadly arc.**

**“Shut up! No more!”**

_**I need something else from my subconscious, something that can help me, something that won’t attack me, something, anything,** _

**“Hi, I’m Abra,”**

**Loki snapped his head around, coming face to face with the girl he had just met that morning; blonde curls, blue eyes, and all.**

**The absurdity of this was too much for Loki “You!? Of all the things my subconscious could have created to help me; a silly, mortal girl!?!”**

**Unfortunately for Loki, while he was distracted by the projection of Abra, the corpse Thor was able to close in on him. Fortunately for Loki, something knocked him and the Abra imitation out of the way of the false Thor’s hammer just in time. Unfortunately for Loki, the aforementioned something was the Hel-Wolf.**

**“You don’t get off the hook that easily,” the beast snarled, with Loki and the Abra copy clinging to its back as it bounded across the field.**

**Loki struggled to collect his wits “Mister Hel-Wolf, you saved me! You good boy—”**

**“Good boy!? Have you been drinking!? I wasn’t a good boy!” the phantom wolf growled “I was a brutal thug; I was just a brutal thug with a lot of charm. Sound like anyone you know?”**

**“So…what are you doing?”**

**Though Loki could not see the Hel-Wolf’s expression, he imagined that the demon beast was sporting a sinister grin “Showing off the new home,”**

**Without warning the Hel-Wolf jumped, straight into the maw of Surtur.**

**“Isn’t this adventure so much fun?!”**

**Just before everything went black, Loki risked a glance at the false Abra. While she clung to the Hel-Wolf’s back tightly; she didn’t respond at all to her surroundings. The Abra copy just stared blankly ahead, a neutral expression on her face.**

_**I’m sure I can count on her to be less than helpful, even my subconscious efforts are turning against me,** _

**Suddenly, it was light again, the Hel-Wolf had carried Loki into the belly of Surtur; and they weren’t alone. Ghastly, shriveled, female figures began to scale the side of Surtur’s stomach “You were our leader Loki, and look where you lead us…”**

_**The Disír,** _

**The memory of betraying the cursed sisterhood to Mephisto burned like a hot coal in Loki’s gut.**

**Another one spoke up “We trusted you, and you led us to Hell,”**

**“Please, I know, give me time; I’ll make it better!” Loki shouted desperately “I’ll save everyone!”**

**The scorned sisters would not be placated “You can’t even save yourself, Loki; join us, join the Disír. The damnation’s lovely…”**

**Suddenly, a familiar voice cut through the Disír’s beckoning “Loki!”**

**Loki snapped his head around “Leah—what are you doing…”**

**“Saving you, obviously,” the aforementioned handmaiden replied while snagging his wrist and fending off the nightmare apparitions “Hellstrom lost his connection, but we’ve a stronger bond. I went in after you and he’s ready with the escape ritual,” she glanced at the imitation of Abra that trotted obediently after them; its expression blank as ever “What is that?”**

**“Hi, I’m Abra,”**

**“It’s a projection I created when I was trying to fend off the nightmares…I didn’t quite get it right,”**

**Leah appeared to accept this “We have to move, there’s a powerful presence in here,” she lead him away from the wraiths along a path she summoned “We’ve got to get to the heart of your subconscious quickly,”**

**“How do I do that?”**

**“Close your eyes, lead me,”**

**Loki squeezed his eyes shut and concentrated.**

_**The heart of my subconscious,** _

**When he opened his eyes again the environment had completely changed. Instead of haunting visions of Thor and Surtur, the only feature on the landscape was a tower of dark, crackling energy. A multitude of thin tendrils connected to its surface trailed off into the unknown.**

**Leah looked quite satisfied “I think we’ve found the source…”**

**For the first time, the projection of Abra appeared to show some emotion, she gazed at the column curiously and began to wander toward it.**

**“And all these beams…feeding into it. Fascinating, you are such a special boy,”**

**“What is it?” Loki asked while staring at the energy apprehensively.**

_**This seems far too easy,** _

  **“I don’t know, but it’s so enormous it can’t be good. This spell should get it out of you…” Leah began to cast what looked like some form of exorcism.**

**“Thanks B.F.F. You’re the nicest,”**

**“My pleasure, B.F.F.”**

_**I knew it,** _

**Loki grinned “You’re not Leah,” he grabbed ‘Leah’s’ head and pulled it off her body “Even in a dream Leah wouldn’t be nice,” he peered into the imposter’s skull “Now, let’s see what’s going on inside your head…”**

_Nightmare, the fear lord, looked covetously upon the fear energy left by the Serpent,_

_He watched it clot up in the minds of those affected by the war the most,_

_If he could possess it then Nightmare would rise above the other fear lords,_

_He ripped it from the minds of the dreamers, killing them,_

_He followed the trail to the ultimate source of fear-stuff, Loki,_

_He snuck into his mind, and found it, all that he needed to make his ultimate weapon,_

_All he had to do was extract it,_

_But then he was discover—_

**GET OUT OF MY HEAD**

**“Enough! Out!”**

**Loki was pulled from his vision as the world around him collapsed.**

**Nightmare, revealed at last, was livid “You trespass against the Lord of Dreams, boy. This is your head, but my domain. You deny me—and in my kingdom you cannot hope to resist me…”**

_**I hope the real Leah is still there,** _

**“Of course not; that would be foolish. That’s why I’m going to wake up immediately,”**

**Nightmare broke into a sadistic grin and let out a harsh laugh “You can no sooner escape your dreams than your fears,” he said with a snarl “The blanket of slumber is wrapped tight around you, and in a second, I can dredge all the energy from—”**

**“Leah! The rite! Make hastiest haste!” Loki felt a sharp pain in his chest and then—**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be continued...
> 
> and Happy New Year!


	7. Part the Sixth

Loki shot up off the bedrock with a howl, a hideously oversized syringe still stuck in his chest. He was back in Leah’s cave; she was there with Daimon.

“Sorry about that, kid. What’s Nightmare up to?”

“How-how-how do you know it’s him?” Loki stammered.

Daimon scowled “As I went under, I was snatched away. Stuck in an awful bar conversation about old kid’s TV, without a chance to interrupt, with and empty glass and the bartender never even once looked in my direction…Total Nightmare,”

Loki paced rapidly in the confines of the cave “Well it’s certainly this Nightmare fellow in there, apparently there’s fear stuff left everywhere by that despicable serpent, it’s all kind of pouring into my head, but he canseethetracesandohmyI’mallgiddy,”

“He’s blathering even worse than usual,” Leah said apprehensively “What is the potion?”

“Pure adrenaline, enough to kill a rhino,” Daimon walked up to Loki and gingerly pulled out the syringe “Stay calm, Loki. It’s Nightmare, a lord of fear, a lord of dream, and a right c…” he trailed off “I better not say that,”

_They don’t know what he’s planning,_

Loki struggled to slow his speech to a cohesive speed “Nightmare’s harvesting the Serpent’s fear stuff; he’s going to turn it into some kind of ultimate weapon. There’s oodles in my head, and it’s sort of pouring in there from people all over the world; they’re the other sleepers,” he paused to take a jerky breath “and he’s after them, as long as I don’t go to sleep, he won’t be able to get mine…but he’s going to kill everyone else just to try and get enough for his silly hat of all-powerfulness and if it builds up too much in their heads, it’ll kill the snoozy ones anyway,” 

Loki scrambled towards the stairs leading out of the cave “We’ve got to go! Swiftly!”

Leah cut in “Loki…you said having a chunk in your head kills people. You have the biggest chunk; then aren’t you going to…” she trailed off, the knowledge of Loki’s ultimate fate hung in the air unsaid, like a dismal storm cloud.

__Loki turned around, giving Leah a pained glance.

_Not what I need to think about right now,_

“Oh let’s worry about that later, eh? You are so depressing, Leah,”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This nano-chapter might not be much, but another will be coming next Friday.


	8. Part the Seventh

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a little chapter showing how things are going on Abra's end. Now the next semester has started and my classes are well and truly kicking my ass it's going to be back to the every other week schedule. I don't like spacing out the chapters so much, but I would rather have longer intervals that I can commit to with more certainty.

**Abra’s mission was a success, she had snuck into Loki’s head without him being the wiser. He thought she was just part of his dream; Abra played along, and she was there, at the source of Loki’s illness. A pulsating mass of dark energy was buried deep in Loki’s head. Transfixed, Abra approached it, dimly aware of Loki talking to whoever was impersonating Leah.**

_**It has something to do with the Serpent…** _

**Spellbound, she reached out a hand to the shimmering, sinister clot.**

_**I need to look closer…** _

  **Abra’s hand hovered just above the blob’s surface, all else forgotten. Then, ever so gently, she pressed her palm on it—**

A bolt of icy energy shook her entire form, knocking Abra back to her body with enough force to make her convulse on the mattress. 

Abra fought to regain control of her spasming limbs, struggling to shake off the deafening clangs in her brain, she wanted to scream but all of her sounds were locked in her throat.

_Oh god it’s in my head, it’s in my head, it’s in my headit’sinmyheadit’sinmyhead_

Part of the bad thing in Loki’s head had stuck to Abra’s hand when she touched it, by coming back she had infected herself. Abra couldn’t take in enough air; her heart was pounding so hard she could feel it try to jump up her throat.

_Put it in a box, Dan’s done it, make a box in your head and put the fear stuff in it,_

Still twitching from her spine to her fingertips, Abra squeezed her eyes shut; struggling to force the slippery, squirming mass into the box she made.

_GOAWAYGOAWAYGOAWAYGOAWAYGOAWAY_

After trying and failing for what seem like hours, she succeeded. The blob of fear energy was sealed away nice and tight. While Abra’s convulsions had finally stopped, now that the danger had passed, another physical response was rising. 

_I’m gonna throw up,_

She pressed both arms over her belly and dashed towards the bathroom. Abra tripped twice and crawled the last few feet, but she made it in time. Grabbing the toilet seat with both hands, Abra retched with all her might. Even when her belly was empty, she still heaved up scant amounts of bile. Even when she was done heaving Abra stayed kneeling on the floor, breathing raggedly. 

After she had finally calmed down enough, Abra stood up on wobbly legs; only to be startled by a fresh, oozing cut on her palm and smears of red all over the bathroom tile.

_When? —How did I?_

Abra looked back toward her bedroom. Her glass of ginger ale lay shattered in pieces across the floor, a few of the fragments were tinted red. 

_I must have broken it and cut myself when I was thrashing around,_

Gently, she grabbed a wad of tissues and pressed them against her cut palm.

_That was bad, just the little bit I grabbed is so powerful, I may have sealed up that bit, but more is out there, in a lot of other people…_

Abra slowly walked back to her bed.

_I need to get back out there, Loki, Leah, and that Daimon guy are tough, but I wonder if they can handle all this,_

Trembling only slightly now, Abra laid down on the mattress and gently shut her eyes. She took one last shaky breath.

_Turn…_

 


	9. Part the Eigth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Perhaps the longest chapter I've ever written to date, enjoy.

* * *

 

Pulled once again from the dream realm, Leah stood and surveyed her surroundings. The sleeper was safe, Daimon and Loki appeared to be well to.

_Another battle ends in victory,_

She and Loki had already aided Daimon in exorcising many sleepers infected with the Serpent’s fear stuff, but there were many more afflicted that they had yet to help. Then there was Loki; he carried by far the largest clot of fear stuff in his head. While he was largely downplaying his condition it was only a matter of time before it killed him.

_I wonder how long it will be before he reaches his limit…_

“Nightmare’s gone to the next sleeper,” Daimon announced curtly “Let’s move,”

Leah helped Loki to his feet “Loki are you—”

“You know, Leah, when you get past your urge to retch, these energy drinks are delightfully addictive; and I’m fine! I’m more worried about Thori! Leaving him alone? Never mind the fate of the world, think of the fate of the furnishings and—”

“Loki!” Leah cut in with a hard edge to her voice.

_I’ve had more than I can bear of your blathering,_

“Yes, it appears I’m dying,” Loki said nonchalantly “Don’t worry. I can hold it together for a while, as long as I can avoid nodding off; and this is a very inopportune for you to start showing concern, Leah,”

Leah was affronted.

_Why does he always twist my words this way!_

“It’s not concern! You still have work to do for my mistress, you arrogant—”

Daimon cut them off “Quit having a moment. We’ve got places to be,”

From there on out there was no idle chatter between the three of them. They continued on, cleansing each sleeper afflicted with the fear stuff one after another. There was no time for remission; every second counted when they were racing the clock and Nightmare to save the lives of all those that carried the dark fear energy. Together, the three of them saved sleepers one after another; a woman who dreamed of being turned to stone, a man whose greatest hero became his worst nightmare, an elder who dreamt of the unknown horrors lurking outside her home, a girl who dreamt of a world in chaos, a woman who found herself to be the source of her fear and pain, a boy who relived the death of his friend, over and over.

They continued on, but still, Leah wondered.

_Sooner or later Loki will reach his limit,_

“Nightmare’s gone,” Daimon grumbled “Leah, you can handle the exorcism?”

“I can, Daimon,”

_It will be finished in less than five minutes,_

“Oh, it’s Daimon now,” Loki said wearily. Leah very pointedly ignored him.

Daimon remained focused on the mission at hand “Next sleeper is in Singapore. I’ll hold him off until you can get here,” before stepping into his portal he gave one last remark “I’m impressed, li’l sister,”

Leah concealed at tiny grin at Daimon’s praise.

_At last, someone that properly appreciates my talents,_

“Leah…” Loki spoke up softly.

“A few minutes, this is the dangerous part,”

Loki continued as if he hadn’t heard her “After you’re finished up…I want you to take the fear stuff out of me…”

If Leah hadn’t been so focused on spell, her shock would have botched the exorcism “WHA—”

“Calm! This is the dangerous part, remember?!” Loki said hastily “Finish the job, I can wait, just about…” he was sweating profusely and clutching his head in a pained manner.

_The fear stuff in his head is killing him,_

Leah completed the exorcism as hastily as she could “I can’t do it. Daimon’s exorcism rituals don’t work on you,”

They walked outside, Leah prepared to create a portal to Singapore where Daimon was waiting.

“No, Hellstrom’s ritual doesn’t…but I was in Nightmare’s head, I saw how he performed his,” as Loki kept on babbling, a desperate edge crept into his voice “Done swiftly it kills—but if performed slowly merely harvests. It takes it out of me and—crucially—leaves me alive. Read my mind, take the details and—”

“Has the fear of death consumed you?” Leah said darkly.

“Absolutely. I don’t want to die. I don’t want anyone to die, with the greatest respect to your mistress, dying’s lame, but I’ve an idea,”

To say Leah was doubtful would be a vast understatement “You’re going to risk all the sleepers?”

Loki was unrepentant “No, rushing around playing hero is. We fail once, someone dies. We get killed they all die,”

Leah glared at Ikol, perching cockily on Loki’s shoulder.

_That wicked bird has no doubt been putting foolish ideas in his head,_

“Trust me, Leah, we have to take the initiative,” Loki looked at her pleadingly, but Leah was not one to be won over so easily.

_I do not trust in straying from the plan this way,_

Leah turned and strode away “I’m going to tell Daimon,” she prepared to summon a portal that would take her to the exorcist.

“You won’t…”

Leah ignored him.

“Leah, don’t make me do this,” Loki begged her.

She kept her back to him and continued on towards Daimon.

“Your mistress ordered you to help me. Do your duty.”

Leah whirled around and fixed Loki with a fearsome scowl.

_The inevitable cracking of the whip… I’m such a fool for being taken off guard by this…_

Loki stood gaping like a fish before he started to babble “I’m so sorry, Le—”

“Lie down,” she said indifferently “It will be as you wish,”

_The last thing I want to hear right now is one of your pathetic apologies,_

Following the guideline Loki gave her, Leah began to extract the clot of fear energy. It was slow, careful work, the clot was massive and moving it just slightly too quickly could cost Loki his life, but at last, her work was done.

“It’s out,” Leah pulled the clot towards herself, hovering it between her hands “Such a little thing, so light, yet so heavy…”

Loki sat up with a grunt “It’s made of pure fear. It’s as heavy as all the woes of the world. Which isn’t the kind of weight that registers on scales…”

Leah warily held the fear clot out at arm’s length “Now to quarantine it in Daimon’s hell—”

Loki stopped her “No, Leah, don’t. A communication rite, if you will,”

Leah did not like having the fear clot out in the open, but she did as she was asked “To who?”

“Nightmare,”

_I do not trust this plan…but my mistress has given Loki command over me,_

She opened the communication conduit between Loki and the fear lord.

Loki called out “Nightmare, are you busy? I have a proposition,”

Leah stood back silently, she was not privy to the other half of the conversation.

Loki continued on “I’m not trying to distract you…I’ve harvested the fear stuff out of my little head,”

Uneasy now, Leah took several steps back.

Loki did not appear to be bothered “I thought you might want it. Here it is come and g—”

An explosive force knocked them both against the alley wall, Nightmare stood before them **“What’s your game godling?”**

Loki took the fear clot from Leah “I was in your head. I know your plan. I know this is enough fear stuff to make your crown. If I give it to you, it means you won’t need to rip it from all the other sleepers,” he held it out toward Nightmare “They all live. You get the crown and mastery of fear and all that. Everyone wins, we could even have a big celebration party,”

Leah stared at him in disbelief.

_Loki, if you’ve turned coward then so help me…_

Nightmare was clearly suspicious **“I am not an idiot,”** he hissed through sharpened, gray teeth **“I can sense if you’ve trapped the fear stuff or adulterated it. If even the smallest tremor is altered, I would notice…”**

“Yes, you would,”

Nightmare snatched up the fear clot **“There’s nothing,”** he said with a wolfish grin **“You’re actually doing this,”**

_WHAT?!_

**“Good doing business with—”** Nightmare paused **“Actually, here’s a thought, what stops me from killing you to make sure you’ve nothing else planned?”**

_An excellent question, I do hope you have an answer, Loki,_

Loki did not appear concerned in the slightest “Well, one, it’d be terribly rude. Imagine if word got around the hereafter? Yes, you may have ultimate power, but people will absolutely never go out on dates with you. No kissing for Nightmare,”

 **“I can live with that,”** he snarled.

“And two, Hellstrom’s here,”

Nightmare whipped around just in time to be struck by a torrent of hellfire from the enraged exorcist **“Heh, why battle when the war’s already won? They boy’s given me the** **keys to my black heaven,”** with that the fear lord vanished from the dark alley.

Daimon was blazing with fury, in both the figurative and literal sense “He’s gone to the dream dimension, we’ve got to pursue him there, we can stop him before he—”

Leah cut him short “You would storm his place of power?”

_Even the three of us combined do not have that kind of power,_

“WHAT OTHER DAMNED CHOICE DO WE HAVE!?”

It was now that Loki made the incredibly poor decision to speak up “Go rescue the remaining sleepers. He won’t be bothering them; you’ll have time—”

Daimon’s hand around his throat silenced him rather abruptly “Say you’ve trapped it or—”

“No,” Loki managed to choke out “He’d have sensed that,”

Daimon was on the brink of combustion “I should have killed you the second we met, You’ve made a fear lord into a fear KING! Just to save your own skin,”

Leah walked up to stand beside him “I said that,”

None too gently, Daimon tossed Loki to the ground “I’ve a holiday home in Hell, kid. You’re coming to stay,”

To Loki’s credit, he managed to look guilty “If this goes wrong, you can, but I’m Loki. If I’m going to save anyone, it’s going to have to be in a Loki way, and if it goes wrong, look on the bright side…”

Daimon was not reassured “What damned bright side is there?”

“Everyone has the satisfaction of a good, hard ‘I told you that boy was bad news’,”

 


	10. Part the Ninth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, I'm in the home stretch with this story. I'm almost done writing it, in fact, I've gotten so much done that the last few chapters will be uploaded on a weekly, not biweekly, basis.

 

Loki crouched behind the large throne, Leah at his side.

_Once Daimon is done we can make our move,_

Leah and Daimon had not been pleased about Loki ignoring them and giving Nightmare his fear clot, to say the very least. Upon hearing his extended plan to stop Nightmare from rising to power, they had begrudgingly agreed to go along with it.

“Yes, Daimon,”

Loki turned towards Leah.

“Understood,” she only now acknowledged Loki’s presence “Daimon is finished with the sleepers,”

Loki grinned “Excellent, now on to phase two,”

_And tie up all the loose ends quite nicely,_

Tentatively, Loki and Leah stood and peered around the edges of the throne. The two of them had snuck into the Infinite Embassy, more specifically, the room where the Fear lords met. Currently, six out of seven of the Fear lords were gathering in the chamber, squabbling over who it was that summoned them. Which, as it turned out, was Loki. 

“If you’re all annoyed at just being called into a meeting, you’re going to be furious when you hear the rest,”

One of the Fear lords, a fellow who had a large, blue octopus in place of a head spoke up “What are you talking about?”

“Only that one of your fraternity, Nightmare to be specific, has harvested the Serpent’s leftover fear energy to make an item of incredible power in order to make himself a Fear King,”

_While the presence of the tentacles makes his expression hard to discern, I can guess that this fellow is not pleased,_

“WHAT!”

“Indeed, if you act with haste, I’m sure you can stop him,”

The Fear lords, all voicing their offense, opened a gateway to Nightmare’s domain, and departed to confront him.

_It looks like my work here is done,_

“Ok, Leah it’s time for us to leave, please open a portal back to your cave,”

As soon as she summoned the portal, Loki wasted no time in urging her into it while he followed close behind. At the last second, he chanced a look back at the Fear lords. They were locked in battle, sparks flew in all directions and the crown never stayed in anyone’s possession longer than a few seconds.

_Perfect…_

 

* * *

 

Much later in Leah’s cave, Loki concluded all of the explanations of his scheme “Which places the Fear lords in perpetual stalemate. Can they learn to trust one another? Of course not, they’re Fear lords. They rule Fear—which, in turn, makes them ruled by fear,”

The only responses Leah and Daimon gave Loki were stony glares.

“…er…Ta-Dah!”

Their frowns deepened considerably.

_Admittedly, I may have pushed the proverbial envelope too far,_

Loki tried one more time “Now would be the time to say ‘Loki—you were right. We should have trusted you all along’,”

“Don’t push it,” Daimon growled “I don’t like being played, boy,”

_Fair enough,_

“But I love playing! We really won’t get on at all,”

Daimon stood up “You know—at times like this, I wonder why I bother trying the good thing at all,” he summoned a column of fire to away himself “See you around, kids hopefully not too soon,” with that he left them.

Loki sighed in relief as the fire column flickered away.

_He wasn’t nearly as angry as I anticipated he would be,_

Suddenly a wall of Hellfire erupted where Daimon stood just moments ago **“Oh, if this all goes wrong, Loki?”** Daimon snarled **“Your head is MINE,”**

With another flash he was gone.

Loki was more than a little rattled “He is a horrible man,”

Leah had the opposite response, she purred.

“What is wrong with the pair of you?”

Leah was unapologetic as always “Bad boys, everyone loves a bad boy,”

Loki most certainly did not pout when he said “I’m a bad boy,”

“Not actual boys,” Leah said disdainfully “Now run along, you should probably report all this to your superiors

Loki made to leave, but then hesitated “Hey…Leah,”

“Yes, what is it?”

“I just…”

_I’m sorry I made you help me when you disagreed,_

She frowned “Whatever you have to say just get on with it,”

Loki struggled for the right words “I…”

_I want us to be friends, I don’t care that Hela made you my servant, to me you’re a friend,_

Leah was losing her patience “Well?”

“I…it’s nothing, never mind,” Loki turned and walked out of her cave and into the cold, early morning.


	11. Part the Tenth

Abra sat up with a stretch and a groan.

_Everything turned out just fine, I guess they didn’t need my help after all,_

Thanks to Leah, Loki, and Daimon; all the leftover fear energy from the Serpent was gone.

_Except for the little bit locked up in my head, but that shouldn’t be an issue, it’s sealed up nice and tight,_

The only curve ball had been Loki pulling an incredibly jack-ass move and giving Leah and Daimon no choice but to follow his plan. 

_Loki may be right about a lot of things, most things, but if he keeps pulling fast ones on people he’s going to make a lot of enemies,_

Suddenly, she was startled by a soft knock on her door.

_Is Dan back already? What time is it?_

“Abra, is it ok if I come in?”

Abra hesitated, remembering the last time the two of them had spoken, before replying softly “…yeah, uh…sure…”

Dan opened the door, walked up to her bed, and sat down on the edge of her mattress. Abra tried to read his expression; to see if any of the anger and disappointment from their last conversation was there, but her room was too dim to see his face clearly.

“I’m sorry about the way I acted earlier,” he said quietly.

“It’s ok,”

“No, it’s not,” Dan said while rubbing his temples “The thing with the diner…it’s not a big deal…Travis might be banged up a little and people may be talking right now, but give it two, three weeks tops, and it will all blow over,”

Abra sat listening quietly, sensing another, unspoken thought in Dan.

“The reason I got so mad is…” he became silent, struggling to find the right words. Eventually, Dan decided on a more direct form of communication.

_I’m scared for you. The road you’re going down right now, the trouble you’re getting in with these two new friends of yours…_

_But they’re not—_

_Don’t get me wrong, I know neither of them would get you in a bad situation on purpose, but I know, don’t ask how, that if you stick with them, you’ll be in danger, there are other bad things out there for people that shine besides the ones we took care of a few months ago, things that can make the Serpent look like an oversized lizard,_

Dan took a deep breath.

_I don’t need to remind you about what happened to Bill Jr, and if you get even more involved with this Asgardian business then you already are…I’m worried the same thing might happen to you,_

He trailed off, not needing to say anything more. Abra didn’t say anything, instead processing everything that Dan had said. After a while, she spoke up.

_Uncle Dan, nothing you said was wrong, there are a lot of risks with hanging around Asgardians, especially for folks like us,_

She paused, resisting the urge to bring her hand up and rub her mouth.

_But there are always going to be risks for people like you and me. The woman in the hat and her friends, they were coming after me long before Asgard even came here,_

Abra looked Dan straight in the eye.

_Even if it’s dangerous, if I can help Loki and Leah, I should, also…_

Abra trailed off and bit her lip, her next thought was much harder to express. Fortunately, Dan took care of that one for her.

_Those two don’t have a choice about whether they’re involved or not,_

They sat in silence for a while before Dan spoke up, out loud this time.

“Ok, here’s the deal, I’m going to let you use your best judgement to figure things out, you can do or not do whatever you think is best and I’ll support you either way,” he held up his left hand, extending his pointer and middle fingers “Two conditions; one, I have to know where you are and what you’re doing at all times,”

Abra nodded affirmatively “Got it,”

“Second, you’re going to be the one filling in your parents on this, if I’m the one telling your mom she’ll drive all the way down here just to rip my head off herself,”

“Understood,” Abra said with a grin.

Dan smiled back at her, then he caught sight of the bundle of bloody tissues wrapped around her palm and frowned “What happened to your hand?”

This reminder of her antics over the last few hours nearly made Abra jump off her mattress, she flushed and struggled to come up with a decent answer “well…uh…you see…while you were at work, I might have…done some stuff…”

Dan chuckled at Abra’s discombobulation “How about you tell me all about what you did in a couple of hours after we’ve both gotten a bit of sleep? I don’t know about you but I’m dead on my feet, all of the other orderlies decided to take tonight off,”

“Sounds good Uncle Dan,” Abra said, smiling right back at him.

He stood up off her mattress and walked towards her bedroom door. Just before leaving, he paused and looked back at her.

_Abra, no matter what’s going on in your life, I want you to know I’ll always be there if you need help, even if you get yourself in a whole mess of trouble I’m always going to be by your side,_

Tension that she didn’t even notice was there unraveled in Abra’s gut. Leave it to Dan to reassure her about something she didn’t even know she was worried about.

_Thanks,_

Dan smiled softly at her “Good night Abba-do,”

She smirked at the mention of her embarrassing nickname “Goodnight Uncle Dan,”

With that he closed the door to her room and left Abra to herself. Alone again and feeling much better overall, Abra wasted no time in lying down and falling into a deep, peaceful sleep.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Almost done, the last chapter will be up next week.


	12. Part the Last

“The All-Mother was quite pleased when I informed them of my work saving the sleepers, I believe that they may even promote me soon,”

Leah had perfected the art of tuning out Loki’s mindless babble while still paying enough attention to pick up anything of importance. This proved to be quite useful for the long walk from her cave to the town of Broxton.

“Anyhow, while the business with the fear stuff is all sorted out there is one final task that requires our attention,” he said cheerfully “You must apologize and make restitution with the mortal you threw from the window,”

Leah stared at him evenly, saying nothing, not wanting to validate his optimism.

_The day the Asgard’s regent offers you any position of power is the day Muspelhiem freezes over, furthermore, I highly doubt the All-Mother commanded that I make amends with that dull human, more likely they commanded you to do it and you passed that task onto me,_

Loki continued speaking as if he did not notice her cool demeanor “So just one quick apology and then it’s back to milkshakes, not such a bad outcome for the two of us, eh?”

Leah very pointedly looked away from Loki and continued walking while facing straight ahead. Loki finally acknowledged her mood and walked beside her in silence.

_Hopefully, the rest of this outing will be free of annoyances,_

Alas, it was not to be.

“He guys!” Abra called out in an irritatingly friendly tone “Fancy running into you here,”

Loki returned her perky countenance with a charming grin of his own “Yes, it is quite the happy coincidence, we were just on our way to the diner so that Leah could ‘bury the hatchet’ as you say with the youth that she threw from a window,”

“That’s great,” she replied “Mind if I come with you?”

“Of course,” Loki said enthusiastically “We would be glad for the company, right Leah?”

_I’m not going to dignify that with a response,_

Abra joined them, and as they continued walking down the street, she continued with her prattle.

“So, anyways, I talked to Mr. Cobb and he talked to my uncle, long story short; you guys aren’t banned from the diner,”

“Really?” Loki said excitedly.

“Yep,” Abra said while giving a self-assured toss of her pretty, blonde hair “Just so long as you guys don’t beat anyone else up,”

“I think we can manage that,” Loki maneuvered Thori’s leash so could place a hand on one of Abra’s shoulders and on one of Leah’s “I do believe that this is the start of a magnificent friendship,”

Abra didn’t appear to mind the contact but Leah felt otherwise. She glared at Loki, her green gaze intense with the promise of a fierce pummeling, until he removed his hand from her shoulder.

_Touch me without permission again and you’ll be collecting your fingers from across the desert,_

 Finally, they reached their destination. Loki tethered Thori to a lamppost and then the three of them stepped into the diner. Heads swiveled around only to snap right back for fear of making eye contact with any of them. Travis was sitting at the counter, upon seeing Leah enter the diner he paled by three shades “st-st-stay away,”

“We will soon be gone,” Loki replied “My friend had something to say…go on Leah,”

  _May as well get this over with quickly,_

Leah stepped forward “You are cruel and small minded,” she said coldly “You thought yourself powerful when you were truly powerless. What happened is a lesson you should never forget,”

Loki tugged his collar uncomfortably while Abra fidgeted with a loose strand of her hair “er…Leah, this is a very bad apology,” he muttered.

Leah continued “However, my actions were unjust. I would make amends,”

Travis now looked equal measures of confused and frightened.

Loki stepped in to elaborate “She means ‘I’m sorry, are we cool?’,”

“uh…yeah…we’re cool,”

Abra grinned “Great, now we can put this whole mess behind us,”

Loki was about to say something else when Leah spoke up again.

“No, if I have transgressed against you there must be justice. There must be a balance,”

_If I am to make recompense with the mortals, I certainly won’t do a half measure of it,_

Abra’s brown wrinkled in confusion “huh?”

“Yes, I’m pretty ‘huh’myself…” Loki muttered.

Too late, they saw her charge towards the window and guessed her intentions.

“Leah!”

“Don’t! Mr. Cobb just replaced the—”

**SMASH**

“…glass…”

Leah stood up off the street and shook the shards of window glass away from her skirt.

_That apology should be sufficient for Loki, the All-Mother, and the people of Broxton,_

“Good day to you,” Leah said crisply. 

Through the shattered window she saw the shocked looks on the diners’ faces, Abra’s horrified expression, and Loki’s grimace.

“I’m really, really sorry,” Loki said guiltily “I honestly thought she was going to buy you a milkshake,”

Abra found her voice again “…yeah…just…don’t worry about it, I’ll talk to my uncle…we’ll get this smoothed over,”

“Thanks,” Loki said with a shaky breath.

Leah waited until Loki was outside with her before she started to walk away. Loki untethered Thori from the pole and began to follow her. Before departing he turned and gave Abra a smug grin “Luckily most of my plans don’t have unforeseen, problematic consequences like this?” he said with a chuckle “That would be terrible!”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tah, Dah! And that's the end of the Terrorism Myth. I'll start posting the sequel, The Mighty Tanarus, towards the end of this month.


End file.
